Kathrine Switzer

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Kathrine Virginia "Kathy" Switzer (born January 5, 1947 in Amberg, Germany) is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator. She became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant.

Jock Semple tried to stop Switzer and grab her official bib, but she was pushed to the ground by Switzer's boyfriend, Thomas Miller, who was running with her and ended the race.

The Boston Marathon was not officially launched until 1972.

Personal life

In 1968, Switzer married Tom Miller, the man who put an end to Semple's murder in 1967. In 1973, the couple got divorced. Switzer married and divorced public relations executive Philip Schaub later in life. Roger Robinson, a British-born New Zealand runner and author, married her in 1987.

After he changed his mind about women in sports, Switzer made amends with Semple. The two became close friends, and she last visited Semple shortly after his death in 1988.

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Life and career

Switzer was born in Amberg, Germany, the daughter of a major in the United States Army. In 1949, her family returned to the United States. She graduated from George C. Marshall High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, and later attended Lynchburg College. She enrolled at Syracuse University in 1967, where she concentrated on journalism and English literature. She received a bachelor's degree in 1968 and a master's degree in 1972.

Switzer, who moved from Lynchburg to Syracuse, wanted to enroll in the men's cross-country running program. Permission was granted, and Arnie Briggs, a cross-country assistant coach, began training with her. Briggs said a marathon was too far for a "fragile woman" to run, but Switzer said: "You should do it if you could," Briggs said, but you'd have to prove it to me." I'd be the first to take you to Boston if you ran the distance in practice. Switzer was preparing for the forthcoming Boston Marathon by the winter of 1967, tackling Syracuse and the highways between Syracuse and Cazenovia, New York, 20 miles away.

The Boston Marathon's constitution made no mention of gender. However, it was well known that women were forbidden from participating in official competition: the AAU, which ruled the Marathon, had ruled that women could not participate in AAU-sanctioned events over a mile and a half.

This excluding women from a top athletic event was already causing high-profile problems. Bobbi Gibb had registered to run in 1966 but had been refused by BAA Director Will Cloney with the explanation that women were physically incapable of running 26 miles. Gibb completed the 1966 season by running unobserved onto the course in the middle of the pack, right near the starting pen. She ran in a time of 3:21:40, ahead of two-thirds of the runners. Gibb, on the other hand, had no running bib and was not an official entrant.

Despite the prohibitions, Kathrine Switzer had decided to run as an official competitor. She registered using her personal AAU number and paid the full race fee. The required certificate of fitness and the application signature were both submitted under the name 'K.V.' Switzer.' Switzer said later that she had signed the application "as I always sign my name." She also stated that her name had been misspelled on her birth certificate, so she often used her initials to avoid confusion. Before the run, she had a male runner collect her bib, number 261.

The Switzer's father was supportive of his daughter's participation in the sport, and several runners gathered for the start greeted her with love and admiration, causing her to feel "very welcome." Coach Arnie Briggs and her boyfriend Tom Miller were among her running teammates, including coach Arnie Briggs and her boyfriend Tom Miller.

Switzer wore a hooded sweatshirt to cover her long hair and avoid attention, but a few miles into the race, it became obvious that a woman was running the Boston Marathon as an official entrant.

At this point, John "Jock" Semple jumped off the following press truck and charged after Switzer. Semple, an irascible Scot-born former runner who was described as "Mr. Boston Marathon himself" in Sports Illustrated, was one of the marathon's key characters. Semple had been volunteering to run the marathon for decades, and had held the event afloat during years when reporters and runners alike lost interest in the marathon. He was involved in the actual race organization, processed the majority of the applications, and led the crowd of runners to the start of the course on race day. He was also a strict traditionalist who thought the Marathon was "sacred" and was well-known in Marathon circles for his habit of charging angrily after participants were insufficiently informed of the event. He fought a contestant in an Uncle Sam outfit in the mid-1960s, slinging cups of water in the runner's face daily. He was apparently charged with attempted assault in 1957 after he threw himself bodily at a racer running in webbed snorkeler's shoes and a grotesque mask. Women defianceing the laws, according to Semple, were as out of place as the costume-wearing pranksters chastised them as "weirdies."

In her memoir, she wrote:

Semple was able to take off one of Switzer's gloves, but her bib was not removed. Semple was thrown out of the way when Switzer's coach Arnie Briggs tried to shield Switzer from harming him. Tom Miller, a 235-pound ex-football player and nationally ranked hammer thrower who was running with her, threw his shoulder into Semple and knocked him to the ground shortly after. "This guy's a hammer thrower for cripes' sake," Semple mumbled during a 1968 interview about Miller's reversal in stopping his assault.

Switzer completed the marathon in about 4 hours and 20 minutes. Photographs caught Semple's assault, and the siege on the course made international news. Switzer's escape from Semple's charges was greatly overshadowed by Bobbi Gibb's victory in the 1967 finish line, who ran the race for the second time and was the first woman to cross the finish line in a time nearly an hour faster than Switzer's. Gibb ran without a ticket in 1966, as she did in 1966. She was not voted on during the election.

Switzer had been given a number through an "oversight" in the entry screening process, according to Semple later.

Will Cloney, the Boston Athletic Association's director, who had turned down Bobbi Gibb's participation in the 1966 Boston Marathon, was asked about Switzer's participation in the race. Although the race rule book made no mention of gender and Switzer had a valid race registration, Cloney said, "Women can't run in the Marathon because the laws prohibit it." If we have rules, life will be in chaos. I don't make the rules, but I do try to follow them out. There is no space in the Marathon for any unlawful individual, not even a male. I would spank the girl if she were my daughter.

Because Switzer had successfully passed through the entry criteria, the AAU banned females from all running events, with female runners barred from participating in any discipline. Switzer and other female runners attempted to convince the Boston Athletic Association to encourage women to participate in the marathon. The Boston Marathon also established an official women's race in 1972.

She understood the importance of her participation and success, according to Switzer.

Switzer will change her mind on Semple later this year. Switzer wrote: The two became best friends, and she became a fan.

Switzer was the women's champion of the 1974 New York City Marathon in a record of 3:07:29 (59th overall). At Boston in 1975, she set a new personal record of 2:51:37.

Switzer was named Female Runner of the Decade (1967–77) by Runner's World Magazine. She went on to become a marathon television commentator, beginning with the 1984 Olympic women's marathon, and was given an Emmy Award for her work. The Supersisters trading card set was released and sold in 1979; one of the cards featured Switzer's name and photograph.

In 1997, Switzer wrote Running and Walking for Women. Marathon Woman was she published in April 2007, on the 40th anniversary of her first marathon attempt. Marathon Woman received the Billie Award in journalism in April 2008 for its portrayal of women in sports.

When Switzer attends the Boston Marathon, she is delighted to see other female runn

In 2011, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame for inspiring women around the world by running. She has been working to increase female running opportunities since 1967.

Switzer introduced 261 Fearless, a worldwide non-profit, in 2015, with an ambassador service, club recognition system, and events. 261 Fearless is a movie that uses running as a way to inspire women to overcome life challenges and embrace healthy living.

She was given bib number 261, the same number she had been assigned in 1967, for the 2017 Boston Marathon, her ninth run in the event and the 50th anniversary of her first appearance. She was put in wave 1 and corral 1 and ended in 4:44:31. She was leading a group of runners from 261 Fearless, and rather than being the only woman in the run-up to 1967, she was joined by over 13,700 women, or almost half of the total runners. The Boston Athletic Association revealed that it would not give bib number 261 to any future runners as an honor for Switzer.

She ran the New York City Marathon for the first time since 1974, winning in 4:48:21.

Switzer was the commencement speaker at Syracuse University's 164th commencement in May 2018 and was granted an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree.

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